MySpace Bows to Facebook with Mashup

MySpace will go down in internet history as the first major social networking site. It gained immense popularity in the years immediately following its release, however, after the release of Facebook, MySpace found itself in a desperate battle for dominance. Now, with the tides of the social media world clearly showing Facebook as the victor, MySpace is making a subtle bow to the new reigning champion.

This bow is known as “MySpace Mashup,” and it was announced to users in an email that stated “It’s true. Facebook and MySpace Mashup are friends.” So, what is Mashup, and what exactly does it mean for the social networking world?

Mashup is a “live data stream” of content from celebrities, bands, movies, actors, and so forth. The content includes information, videos, newly released songs, news stories, blog updates, and more. Analysts point to this service as a “partial re-branding” of MySpace that’s been a long time coming. MySpace seems to be focusing on the one niche it’s managed to maintain: acting as a source for connecting with the entertainment industry. The partnership with Facebook allows users to automatically follow the actors, television shows, bands, or other groups that they’ve “liked” on Facebook. The combination of the refocusing and the partnership effectively symbolize a surrender to Facebook on the networking front.

In addition to the message sent to Facebook and MySpace users, a webinar-styled conference call was broadcast, featuring statements from Mike Jones, the MySpace CEO, and Dan Rose, Facebook’s VP of Partnerships. The representatives explained that the technology used was similar to many other uses of Facebook, but did little to reveal the motivations of their respective companies.

For the time being, the partnership is limited to cross-subscriptions to celebrities, however, rumors abound that information sharing between the networks is just over the horizon.